Fabio L. Leite
“Every psychopath is, by definition, psychologically invincible. No matter how much you show him his mistakes and prove his crimes, he will continue not only proclaiming innocence, but singing victory.
The psychopath doesn’t feel guilt, doesn’t know what inner regret is, but flees from outer shame with an inflexible obstinacy, defending with the ferocity of a thousand lions the only moral heritage he has: self-love. That same self-love that the Christian systematically destroys every day by confessing his sins in an interior court where self-deception does not escape unscathed, is for the psychopath the supreme good, the weapon on which he depends to guarantee his livelihood, his social ascension, his success in the world.
Even when caught red-handed, with proof of his crime displayed before the eyes of the world, he will never admit: “I have sinned, I need forgiveness.” He will never suffer inwardly for having done wrong, for having wronged an innocent, for having wronged a brother, for having ruined a friend, or for having cowardly attacked an enemy in the back. Instead, he will produce out of the blue the most extraordinary subterfuges and rationalizations, appealing, if necessary and possible, to the most far-fetched and false pretense of erudition, so as not to give up. No tear of regret will ever run down his face, no sincere apology will ever come from his mouth.”
Olavo de Carvalho